Bionic Outlaw's Baby: A Secret Baby Sci-Fi Romance

by Zara Zenia

  Things were good, but still not great. We were under a lot of stress financially, because we wanted to save up as much as possible for when the baby came. This meant that we had to stay in my tiny apartment for a while, but we had hopes of one day upgrading to a larger space.

  Mentally, I wasn’t quite in the clear yet. The Organization really messed with my head, and I was still dealing with some deep issues.

  I had nightmares several times a week where I would be running from someone. I would wake up right before they caught me. Sometimes, I dreamt that my skin was being sliced open. Dana said I yelled in my sleep a lot.

  I had also become extremely paranoid. I jumped every time there was a knock at the door, and I hated making eye contact with people. I felt like everyone was studying me, like I was a criminal.

  All in all, things were much better than they had been in years. I was on my way to having my own little family. I was working toward my dream of working in the music industry, and being an independent civilian. I didn’t have everything, but I had all that I needed.

  Epilogue

  Dana

  Once we returned to the city, our adventure together continued. Instead of running from a top secret government organization, we were now navigating our way through domesticity. It was a challenge, but having Elijah by my side made it worth it.

  It took a while to get used to safety and security. Elijah was suffering from some of the effects of his time in the army, his stint in The Organization, and his life on the run. Many nights, I had to shake him awake to stop him from crying out in his sleep. With time, he’s come to terms with his past, and was working on putting it all behind him.

  Our relationship was as good as ever. I was a little concerned that our attraction to each other would cool once the excitement wore off, but we were just as hot as ever. Not even pregnancy could get in the way of our active sex life.

  The rest of our relationship was great, too. Like all couples, we argued occasionally, but for the most part, we were each other’s best friend. Not long after we moved back in to his apartment, he told me he loved me! While I knew he wasn’t a robot, I still had a hard time looking past his steely exterior. My favorite moments with Elijah are the ones where he revealed his true humanity.

  Our domestic bliss wouldn’t be complete if there weren’t some struggles. We managed to find good jobs right away, but it was still hard to come up with the money we needed. Elijah worked a lot of hours to make our goals possible. We sacrificed a lot of comfort to save money, but it was worth it. We had enough to give the new baby everything she needed.

  Our baby girl arrived in the spring. I was relieved to have that tiny monster out of me. Joking aside, Lily James Hall made every struggle in the past year worth it. At times during my pregnancy, I wished that we had used protection, but seeing her face made that all disappear.

  She was born on a stormy night after just five hours of labor. When I first felt the contractions, I tried to ignore them. In my naïve state, I thought they might go away if I didn’t pay attention to them. Then it got to the point where I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I was scared. I didn’t know how to be a mother. There are so many women who know they wanted to have children. They actually planned their pregnancies and told everyone they knew that they were expecting. That was far from my reality.

  I really couldn’t have done it without Elijah. When my contractions were more intense and more frequent, I finally called him at work. He rushed home to find me crying on the floor, just an absolute mess. He scooped me up in his arms, and I looked into his ever-changing dark green eyes. I instantly felt calm. He drove me to the hospital, where we met our sweet little girl not long after.

  Motherhood was tough, but it had its perks. Elijah was still working nights most of the week, so he was always alert for late night diaper changes and feedings after his shift. I was tired all of the time, but watching Lily smile, roll, and crawl for the first time filled my heart with joy.

  Fatherhood had changed Elijah. Before, he was often unemotional and could sometimes be cold. Once Lily was in the picture, he finally softened. The first time he held his daughter, he cried. Seeing him cry for the first time made me sob hysterically, and I bet the nurses were a little freaked out. I will always keep that image in my mind.

  Elijah was great with Lily. He spent as much time with her as he could, often sleeping only a handful of hours a day so he could be with her as much as possible. He wanted to do everything he could to be the father he never had.

  When Lily was three months old, Elijah asked me to marry him. He gave me a beautiful ring with Lily’s birthstone in it. While I was sleeping, he slipped the ring on my finger. I was a little embarrassed by my reaction, though. According to him, I noticed it, said, “Oh, that’s nice” and fell back asleep. He woke me up again with his laughter and I finally realized what was happening.

  Our wedding was small, but beautiful. Elijah obviously didn’t have a lot of family, and only had a few friends from work.

  I reluctantly made up with my parents when Lily was born. Elijah was insistent that I reach out to them, because he didn’t want his baby to grow up not knowing who her family was. It was hard, but they eventually came around to the idea of making amends. We still weren’t close, but my parents visited often and even babysat for us a few times.

  We had our wedding at the campgrounds where we stayed when we were on the run from The Organization. The owner of the camp was so surprised to hear that we wanted to rent the whole place out for a night. Naturally, Elijah and I rented out Cabin 13 for our wedding night.

  Our wedding was perfect for us. We got married in the fall, so the leaves in the forest were vibrant oranges and reds. The colors of the landscape contrasted with Elijah’s eyes, making them brighter than I had ever seen them before. I could even see the gold flecks in his irises that our daughter shared.

  For the second time in my life, I saw his eyes mist over when I walked down the aisle of pine needles. I hardly remember anything that was said at the ceremony, because we were lost in each other’s eyes. Lily babbled and cooed the whole time in delight. I know she didn’t understand what has happening, but I think she was happy to see her parents so in love.

  After the ceremony, we had food and drinks as the sun set, and I introduced Elijah to all of the people in my life. Elijah isn’t a fan of meeting new people, but he hung in there, and I think he actually enjoyed himself. My parents watched Lily at night, so we could have some time alone.

  We made love, a few times, as we do when we find ourselves alone for a few minutes. Afterward, we fell asleep immediately in each other’s arms, exhausted. We slept until the afternoon the next day, savoring every extra hour of sleep.

  To our enormous surprise, I found out I was pregnant again, not long after the wedding. I was a little apprehensive, as one child was already a lot of work. Elijah, on the other hand, was absolutely over the moon about it. He loved having Lily around and wanted her to have a little brother or sister, like he always wanted.

  After weeks of morning sickness, I demanded that he get a vasectomy, since whatever made him sterile before was definitely not working. He wasn’t thrilled about the idea because he wanted the option of having more kids in the future. I threatened that I would stop having sex with him if he didn’t have the procedure done. We quickly worked out a compromise.

  I agreed to let him bank some of his sperm so that in the event that I might change my mind, we could try to get pregnant through IVF. The strangest thing happened though. Whenever he visited the clinic to leave his “deposit” they would call back, saying that there was no sperm in his sample. After the fifth time, he gave up, and called the physician that Kingsley recommended. The doctor said that he appeared to be infertile, but did the procedure anyway. He thought that his body released sperm when he was with someone he loved, because that would make him more human. Elijah couldn’t produce his genetic matter on his own; he needed me, the woman he loved, to contribute h
is half of the chromosomes it took to make another life.

  Elijah and I had a special bond that couldn’t be explained. At the beginning of our relationship, we tried to be as detached as possible, and that only caused us pain. Once we stopped fighting our mysterious connection, our lives were easier. At our wedding, we vowed to love each other for better or for worse. Seeing as the start of our lives together couldn’t have gotten much worse, I’d say that we were looking forward to a lifetime of better.

  Thank You

  Zara Zenia writes steamy, sexy, and suspenseful sci-fi romances! You will find her writing alien romances from intergalactic planets, bionic romances, superheroes and time travel romances too.

  Please see her Author Central Account on Amazon for a full list of her titles.

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  Also by Zara Zenia

  Warriors of Orba Series:

  Benzen: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Book 1)

  Book 2-Coming Soon!

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  Excerpts:

  Benzen: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance

  I think it’s all working out with our escape plan, everything going as it should. I think so right up until the very last minute, when the engine fails. It comes as a violent shudder, the sound of metal crunching and stuttering, coughing like a dying old man before giving out completely. The next thing I feel is the terror inside my gut as we hit a speed I scarcely thought possible.

  We’re tumbling, flying, falling fast down to the nearest planet. I see it come closer, a glowing blue orb the color of lightning bolts and vegetation. For a moment, as we plummet down at breakneck speed, I wonder what the puffy, white substance is that caresses the atmosphere of the world we’re about to land on. I ponder it until we’re right in the middle of its softness and realize they’re clouds. They moisten the sides of the ship as we stab through them, a ball of mechanical fire falling to disintegration.

  The ground comes up fast, then faster, then faster still until I hold my breath, certain that we will crumble upon impact. Glancing around at my crew, I see them more terrified than I am. Victorinth, her eyes are ablaze in fear, her gaze following mine out the window as the ship falls sideways. She’s holding onto her seat, gripping it as though it’s the last connection she has to her life before it became a disaster, before we felt the fear of falling.

  Our eyes meet over the chaos, panic surging between us like a tangible energy. Horror is etched into Victorinth’s face, and I see her lips twitch as she tries to tell me something, but I don’t hear a word. All that enters my ears are the rapid sounds of the craft cracking up around me and the rush of air as it escapes through the gaps in the falling wreckage. It hits my face, cold and caustic, the force almost burning my skin.

  The last thing I see before we crash is a large building on the edge of a city. If I knew of its importance to the crew, I would have feared nothing, but in that moment, I’m stricken with an intense fear, one that grows the closer we get.

  It’s right before my eyes, the ground black with symmetrical white stripes, and it’s coming up fast. I resign myself to fate, it will swallow me up and I will live no more. There’s a crunch, Victorinth screams, and the crew falls into a mass of tangled-up terror as the ship splinters at the edges.

  Before the blackness arrives, I look up and see the large building beside us. There’s a sign on the wall in an alphabet I’m not familiar with.

  RICHMOND CITY MALL

  I squint in an attempt to decipher the symbols, but as I strain my eyes, shock takes over my body. Then, nothing but darkness.

  ***

  My eyes are stinging, blistering with the pain of unseen molecules. It would seem where we’ve landed has something in the air we’re not used to. It takes a few breaths to adjust to the light. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before. The sky is dark like the blackest onyx, but every now and again, items are illuminated, like buildings or vehicles of sorts. As I glance out the window, I can see there are various other crafts. Some are larger than others and in different colors, but they are mostly of similar length, or at least much smaller than our craft.

  “What are you looking for?” One of my team shouts from behind me.

  “I don’t know yet,” I answer. “I’m still figuring things out.”

  I see something move, another being. They’re tall, slender, ethereal, and calm as they walk across the space in front of me. I see them enter one of the vehicles, then watch as it disappears around a bend.

  “What was that? I hear something.”

  I can hear the team behind me spruce themselves up and get back on their feet.

  “Is anyone hurt?” I turn around to check everyone.

  They all look themselves over before shaking their heads.

  “I’m scared,” says the youngest, Victorinth.

  “Me too,” I admit. “But we’ll be fine if we stick together.”

  We all nod at one another to show we’re in agreement.

  “But what was that?” asked Victorinth again. “What was that noise?”

  She rushes to the window and looks out. Seeing nothing, she turns back around.

  “It was a craft,” I explain.

  “Like this one?” She runs to her brother, Jarick, and clings onto him.

  “No. It looks nothing like this one. It was smaller, much smaller, and did not leave the ground,” I explain.

  “It didn’t leave the ground?” Jarick asks, bewildered. “How strange.”

  I can see him churn the idea around in his mind, the cogs of his brain whirring as he tries to figure it out.

  “Then how did it move?” he finally asks.

  “With wheels on the ground.”

  “Like… What the primitives used back in the olden years?” He’s aghast.

  “Yes, something like that.” I look solemnly to the ground. “But never mind that. We have to formulate a plan for ourselves.”

  “Yes, you’re right,” Ethazol says, stepping forward. “We can’t stay here forever, we’re a sitting target.”

  “Always the sensible one,” I smile at him.

  Walking back over to the window, I look out once more for signs of danger. Every now and again, the beings pass by, but they don’t so much as look over at us. It confuses me.

  “I don’t think anyone can see us. Not the craft, anyway. It appears the body work done before takeoff works here too.”

  “You mean the diversion worked?” Jarick asks.

  “Yeah,” I keep my sight outside the craft. “We’re safe for now, I hope.”

  I’m so busy being lost in my thoughts that I don’t notice the human getting closer and closer until it’s too late. It’s striding purposely right to us, as though it doesn’t know we’re here. He’s walking briskly, so briskly in fact that it's only a few breaths until he’s right at the window.

  “Look!” I shout at the crew.

  They all huddle around the window and gasp as they see him approach, closer and closer until…

  “Argh!”

  We hear him yell. He’s walked right into our craft, his face crumpling against the metal fragments of our broken ship. He pulls away hurt. There’s a red substance coming out the center of his face. It trickles down into his mouth and covers his teeth.

  We all remain silent as we try to figure out what has happened. The human looks to be in a state of shock. He tries to walk again but once again he hits the window.

  “What the hell?” We hear him say.

  He takes a couple steps to the side and tries to walk again. Yet, just like before, he walks into the craft. He takes another couple steps to the side and repeats and still, he can’t get anywhere. I watch as a look comes over his face. It’s a look of terror, one that shows his ideas of reality tearing at the seams.<
br />
  “I almost feel as though I want to go out there and help him,” I say as I see him fail over and over again to get to where he’s going.

  “You’ll do no such thing.” Ethazol claps a hand to my shoulder. “We are in enough trouble,” he explains. “No use in complicating things.”

  Yet we watch enraptured for a long while as the man attempts to get around the ship. At one point, we watch him stop for a little while. He looks exhausted and just stands still, looking down at his body. It’s then that he places a hand on his gut and then examines his fingers.

  “Oh my god…” We can hear him muttering through the walls. “What is this?”

  As we look at his hands, we see there is a peculiar green substance attached to his fingers. It seems as though his body has come into contact with our jet fuel, and we can only hope that he remains safe with the chemical on his body.

  “Don’t go out there, Benzen.” Jarick turns to me. “I know what you’re like. You want to help everyone, but right now you have to focus on just helping us get out of this ship and somewhere safe.”

  I nod.

  “Very well. It appears you know me too well.”

  We’re all silent for a moment as we contemplate what we have to do.

  “What were those things on his body?” Victorinth blurts out eventually.

  “I’m not sure,” I answer.

  “It looked like some sort of body armor, but not for combat,” she says as she bites on her lower lip in deep thought.

  “Yeah you’re right,” I agree. “That is what it looked like. I saw the others out there wearing them too.”

  “Well then, we’ll have to get them,” Ethazol commands. “Or we’ll be noticed.”